GIC, Mirae Sell Greater Seoul Logistics Complex to DWS for $87M

Singaporean sovereign fund GIC and South Korea’s Mirae Asset have sold a warehouse complex in Greater Seoul to DWS Asset Management, with market sources confirming the German investor’s purchase price of KRW 118.4 billion ($87 million).

The Gonjiam Logistics Center comprises two fully leased dry warehouses in the Gyeonggi provincial city of Gwangju, just southeast of Seoul, spanning 63,661 square metres (685,241 square feet) of gross floor area in total.

DWS is buying the 2015-built property for KRW 1.86 million ($1,400) per square metre of GFA, which represents an entry cap rate of 4.5 percent and a stabilised cap rate of 5.5 to 6 percent, a person familiar with the deal told Mingtiandi on Tuesday.

This person said the target rent for Gonjiam Logistics Center was lower than what some potential buyers may have wanted, owing to factors including the age of the asset and less-than-optimal expressway access, as well as a rumour that anchor tenant Coupang plans to leave upon expiry of its lease at the end of 2027 and relocate to a project that the e-commerce giant is developing in Icheon.

Dry in Demand

Gonjiam Logistics Center was marketed by Korean logistics advisory Mate Plus, which touted the property’s access to key residential areas like Gangnam, Seongnam and Hanam and status as the closest logistics complex to Seoul then on the market.

“The southeastern region, which includes Gwangju City, is a region where the demand for logistics centres is steadily increasing due to its close proximity to Seoul among metropolitan areas,” Mate Plus said last December in announcing the sale campaign. “However, due to recent difficulties with permits and PF (project financing), supply is limited, and rents are expected to rise.”

Mate Plus noted that the Gonjiam Logistics Center’s ambient storage space aligns with current demand for non-cold-storage facilities in the Greater Seoul market. Mirae and DWS had not responded to Mingtiandi’s requests for comment on the deal at the time of publication, while a GIC representative had no comment.

Among developed economies globally, South Korea ranks as the most in-demand market among warehouse occupiers looking to expand, according to a CBRE report released last month.

“CBRE expects leasing momentum in this market to pick up from H2 2025 onwards as the negative impact from domestic political uncertainty and trade tension gradually dissipates,” the consultancy said.

Hotspot Stays Hot

Gyeonggi province surrounding Seoul continues to play host to a string of warehouse deals, with a Warburg Pincus joint venture in March announcing the acquisition of its second Korean logistics asset in the city of Anseong.

The US private equity major picked up the 82,000 square metre development site under its JV with Seoul-based Wide Creek Asset Management, boosting the partnership’s net leasable area under management to 244,000 square metres.

That same month, Warburg and another JV partner, Seoul-based 3PL provider and warehouse developer MQ, revealed the acquisition of an Anseong shed as the sixth asset for their Qube Industrial partnership after launching the platform in late 2023.

US fund manager Heitman picked up an Anseong warehouse of its own in a deal disclosed last October, following LaSalle Investment Management’s acquisition of a pair of logistics facilities in the city a few months earlier.